Automated analysis instruments, as are routinely used these days in analysis, forensics, microbiology and clinical diagnostics, need to determine different properties of liquids (e.g. in the case of blood clotting examinations) in a quick, precise and reproducible fashion by means of optical processes. In essence, two different measuring principles are currently used in hemostatic analysis instruments. Firstly, use is made of instruments with a stationary detection unit, for example a stationary photometer, and a disk-shaped, moveable sample holder (a so-called sample carousel). The samples in the sample holder are successively led past the detection unit and tested. Accordingly, the sample carousel has to halt every time a new sample is introduced into the carousel or an already tested sample is removed from the carousel. Thus, these steps are accompanied by a significant loss of efficiency. Alternatively, it would be feasible for a gripper to remove samples from the rotating sample carousel; however, such an arrangement is very susceptible to faults.
The other measuring principle utilizes a plurality of stationary optical detection units. Here, respectively one detection unit is provided per sample. This always affords the possibility of measuring a plurality of samples at the same time. However, every detection unit has its own optical setup in this measuring principle, which increases the material and production costs, makes the device susceptible to faults and complicated to service, and moreover harbors the risk of variations in the precision between the individual detection units, which variations are difficult to control.